When Bad Things Happen

If God is good, why is the world so bad?

An excerpt from Rabbi Blech's new, trailblazing book that explores the traditional responses to suffering. To order, click here.

Much of what troubles us about God's ways should really be ascribed to the actions of man. But what about the times when the evil stems directly from God?

What if a doctor informs you that your child has incurable cancer? Nobody has hurt your child. This evil seems to be coming from the One who supposedly does only good. If an evil person had hurt your child, you may not be able to forgive him, but you would at least know where to place the blame – on human wickedness. But if God has hurt your child, that is simply too much to bear.

Yet little, innocent children suffer every day. And invariably we are led to ask: How can a good God be so utterly cruel?

What troubles us also troubled the greatest Jewish leader, Moses. He dared to ask this question to The One Who Knows the Answer. And that eternal wisdom is shared with us in the book of Exodus. It is here, the Talmud tells us, that the Bible first takes up the problem of why the righteous suffer.

At first glance the passage may appear cryptic:

Moses then said [to God]: "Please grant me a vision of Your Glory." He [God] said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass before you and will proclaim the name of the Lord in your presence. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will be compassionate to whom I will be compassionate." And He said, "You cannot see My Presence and live." And the Lord said, "Behold there is a place alongside Me, and you shall set yourself on the rock. When My Glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My Hand until I pass by. Then I will remove My Hand and you will see My Back, but My Face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33: 18-23)

Most people who are reading this literally assume that Moses is asking to know what God looks like, and, in answer, God won't show His face, but lets Moses take a peek at His mighty shoulder blades.

That is, of course, absurd.

When I see a baby with leukemia and I know he is going to die soon, I don't know what You are doing.

The Talmud (Brachot 7a) tells us that Moses was not asking to "see" God. Moses knew better. Moses knew that God has no body or any form for that matter and therefore cannot be seen with human eyes. Rather, Moses was asking to "see" God's "glory," so that he could understand God's plan. In effect, Moses is saying to God, "God, I love, honor and respect You in every way. But there are things about You that I do not understand. When I see a child with infantile paralysis, when I see a baby with leukemia, when I see a little boy suffering great pain and I know he is going to die soon, I don't know what You are doing. And I would love to have a total understanding of Your ways so that I can give you the full honor You deserve."

It is very significant that this passage appears right after God's absolution of the Israelites for the terrible sin of the Golden Calf. God had led the Israelites out of the slavery of Egypt; He had performed astonishing miracles before their eyes; He had spoken to them at Mount Sinai; and then, when Moses went up the mountain, the Israelites repaid all this goodness by rejecting God and building an idol. Yet when they atoned for this great sin, He had not only forgiven them, but also responded by describing His essence as being one of complete mercy and compassion.

That is when Moses chose to make his request, as if to say, "If that is true, then will You explain how Your glory is reflected in the suffering of children and in the gloating of the wicked? Can you give me the gift of seeing how that makes sense?"

In short, Moses wanted to know why bad things happen to good people.

God's answer contains what Moses, as well as all of us reading these words thousands of years later, have the right to know.

So let us look very carefully, point by point, at what God is telling us.

THE WHOLE PICTURE

"I will cause all My goodness to pass before you and you will proclaim the name of the Lord in your presence."

The names by which God identifies Himself are extremely important. Here, He uses the unique four-letter name known as the Tetragrammaton, which we are forbidden to pronounce; it is generally translated as "Lord" (Adonai). As noted earlier, this name signifies kindness and compassion, as contrasted with the name Elohim, which refers to God as the harsh but just judge. So it is the name of the merciful Lord that He wishes to proclaim to Moses.

Once we are able to understand the whole picture, we will see suffering as a manifestation of the compassionate side of God.

We are told that "all" of God's goodness will be testimony to the merciful quality of the Almighty. And, by implication, that we will change our perception of pain and suffering once we have seen it "all." Seeing only half the story leads us to think God is cruel, but a fuller perspective will let us grasp why every strict judgment was really a necessary act of love.

Once we are able to understand the whole picture, we will see suffering as a manifestation of the compassionate side of God.

"I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will be compassionate to whom I will be compassionate."

Is God saying, "I will do whatever I want regardless of what is just"? No, He is not saying that. But He is saying, "I will be gracious to the one I will be gracious to, and not to the one you think I should be gracious to. I will be compassionate to whom I will be compassionate, and not to the one you think I should be compassionate to."

The Talmud (Pesachim 50a) teaches that in the World to Come everything will be turned upside down. Those who are on the bottom here will be on top there and vice versa. The point it makes is that very often our judgments about who is a saint and who is a sinner are far off the mark. The way the world offers honor is literally topsy-turvy. Only in the afterlife can we see who are the truly deserving.

The Baal Shem Tov, the 18-century founder of the Hassidic movement, explained what that means through this wonderful story:

In a certain house, there dwelt two Jews and their families. One was a learned scholar, the other a poor laborer. Each day the scholar would rise from his sleep at the break of dawn and go to the synagogue where first he would study a page of Talmud. Then as the pious men of old were wont to do, he would wait a short time, direct his heart to heaven and say the morning prayers quietly and slowly, drawing out his worship until almost midday.

His neighbor, the poor laborer, also rose early and went to work – backbreaking work that strained the body and soul at once – until midday, there being no time to go to the synagogue to pray with the congregation at the proper hour.

When noon arrived, the scholar left the synagogue to return home, filled with the sense of self-satisfaction. He had busied himself with Torah and prayer and had scrupulously performed the will of his Creator. On his way from the synagogue, he would meet his neighbor, the poor laborer, hurrying to the house of worship, where he would recite the morning prayers in great haste, in anguish and regret for his tardiness. They would pass each other.

When the poor laborer passed his neighbor on the street, he would utter a mournful groan, upset that the other had already finished his study and prayer in leisure before he had even begun: "Oh my, here I am just going to Shul. He had already finished. I didn't do it right. Ay ay ay!" Meanwhile the lips of the scholar would curl mockingly, and in his heart he would think, Master of the World, see the difference between this creature and me. We both rise early in the morning. I rise for Torah and prayer, but he...

So the days, weeks, months and years passed. Each of the two men's lives were spent in a different fashion, one in the freedom of Torah and prayer, the other in the slavery of earning a livelihood. When from time to time their paths would cross, the scholar would smirk, and the laborer would groan.

As it must to all men, death came at last to the scholar and, shortly afterward, to his neighbor, the laborer. The scholar was called before the heavenly tribunal to give an accounting of his deeds. "What have you done with the days of your years?" the voice from on high called out.

"I am thankful," replied the scholar with a firm voice, in which could be detected more than a little pride, "all my days, I served my Creator, studying much Torah and praying with a pure heart."

"But," commented the heavenly accuser, "he always mocked his neighbor, the poor worker, when they would meet near the synagogue." The voice from on high was heard, "Bring the scales."

On one side, they put all the Torah he had learned and all the prayers he had prayed, while on the other side, they put the faint smirk that hovered over his lips each day when he met his neighbor. Behold, the weight of the smirk turned the scale to guilty.

After the case of the scholar had been completed, they brought before the heavenly tribunal the poor laborer. "What have you done with your life?" asked the voice from on high.

"All my life, I have had to work hard in order to provide for my wife and children. I did not have time to pray with the congregation at the proper time, nor did I have the leisure to study much Torah for there were hungry mouths to feed," answered the laborer in shame and grief.

"But," commented the heavenly advocate, "each day, when he met his neighbor, the scholar, there issued from the depth of his soul a groan. He felt that he had not fulfilled his duties to the Lord."

Again, the scales were brought and the weight of the groan of the poor worker turned the scale to innocent.

The same point was made by the famed 12th-century Talmudist and philosopher, Moses Maimonides, in the Mishneh Torah (Laws of Repentance, 3:2). In his legal magnum opus he concludes that in God's eyes a person's good deeds and shortcomings are judged qualitatively, not quantitatively. One terrible sin may outweigh a lifetime of good deeds, or one special good deed may wipe out many sins. Only God truly knows what is in each person's heart as well as the real value of our actions.

So when God tells Moses, "I will be compassionate to whom I will be compassionate," He is saying, "I know better than you who is righteous and who is wicked, who is deserving and who is not. Don't presume to improve upon my judgment."

***

"And He [God] said, 'You cannot see My Presence and live.'"

What in the world does that mean?

Moses wants to "see" God, to understand God's ways. But God tells Moses, "As long as you are alive, you will never fully 'see.'" The entire picture is not visible from our limited perspective in this world.

Imagine yourself standing with your nose pressed to an impressionistic painting. In one place you see splotches of the most breathtaking royal blue, in another there is a big splotch of black, in another a splotch of white. It is not until you step a good dozen feet away that you see what the painting depicts – it's Van Gogh's "Irises."

This is just as true when it comes to understanding God's plan. At times we see the colorful parts, at times the dark parts, but we can never step back far enough to see the whole picture. To step back far enough is to step into the next world.

Our existence here on Earth, and our comprehension of the real meaning of our lives, is very limited. This is God's message to Moses, the same message He gives Job when that long-suffering man asked for understanding. God says, "The facts at your disposal in the arena of life are insufficient for the kind of knowledge that you seek to possess."

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GOD

"And the Lord said, 'Behold there is a place alongside Me, and you shall set yourself on the rock."

To help Moses grasp the reasons for the presence of evil on Earth, God tells him to stand "alongside Me." This phrase echoes a similar idea from Genesis when man is first created in the image of God. Man is given a role to play in completing God's work, commensurate with his greatness. He is told that he stands as a partner alongside God up above; he is not a passive observer down below.

Why was Moses told to set himself upon a rock? Because the Hebrew word for rock, tzur, comes from a root that means to form, fashion or shape. The rock alludes to man's purpose on Earth. Just as God is a creator, so too is man. Indeed, man is a co-creator with God, a partner in the completion and perfection of the world.

Evil is a manifestation of a world that is still incomplete, waiting for man to do his part and finish the job.

To give man a chance to exercise this function, God has purposely left the world unfinished. It was created incomplete. That is the meaning of God resting at the end of the sixth day. God was surely not tired. "God rested" means that He stopped in mid-work. Why? So that man has the opportunity to have a hand in perfecting the world. God allows for sickness so man can play a role in inventing cures. God allows for famines so that man can have a part in inventing new methods of agriculture. God allows for droughts so that man can participate in bringing the world closer to its ideal state by inventing new irrigation methods and by building dams and desalinization plants.

So the evil in the world only points up the work we still have to do. Evil is a manifestation of a world that is still incomplete, waiting for man to do his part and finish the job.

"When My Glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My Hand until I pass by. Then I will remove My Hand and you will see My Back, but My Face shall not be seen."

It is here that the most important part of the answer is given. By telling Moses that he will not be able to see His face, but only His back, God is saying that it will be impossible for Moses to understand the events as they are happening. But later, in retrospect, it might be possible to make sense of what has occurred.

While you are confronting a crisis, while you are in the eye of the storm, you will not be able to understand God's purpose or logic. But once the crisis has passed, then, looking backwards in time, it will be possible to begin to understand God's ways.

We can all name events in our lives that appeared terrible when we experienced them, but when seen from a later perspective turned out to be good. A man is hurrying on the way to the airport. He gets a flat tire, and he panics – he knows he is going to miss the plane. He is angry at fate. At that moment, it is a terrible thing. He fixes the flat, drives like mad to the airport, but to no avail – the plan has taken off without him. An hour later, he finds out that the plane went down and crashed. So the flat tire, which he cursed a few hours ago, turned out to have been a blessing.

There is a memorable story told in the Talmud (Brachot 60b) that teaches the principle of "this, too, is for good":

The renowned first-century scholar, Rabbi Akiva, while traveling by donkey through a small village, could not find lodging at any inn. He took this in stride, assuming there was a divine purpose for his difficulties. He camped out in the woods outside of town, happy at least that he had his lantern to read by and his rooster to wake him in the morning. But in short order he is visited by more calamities – his donkey runs off, his rooster dies, and his lantern blows out. But being Rabbi Akiva, he patiently accepts his fate.

The next morning, when he goes back into town, he finds that a gang of marauders had massacred the entire population. Suddenly, he understands each and every difficulty he had faced: "Had I gotten lodging, I would have been killed. Had the lamp been on, they would have seen me. The rooster would have crowed, the donkey would have brayed. Everything that happened to me I now realize was all for the good."

THE ILLUSION OF GOOD AND BAD

When we ask the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" we are often making erroneous assumptions. What we perceive as "bad things" might, in fact, be the best things that could happen to them.

I know a multimillionaire who lost his first job as a mail clerk. Unable to find employment, he was forced to start an enterprise of his own. He now says, "It is only because I got fired that I made it."

I know of one young man who as a student was so distraught over a breakup with a girl that he became suicidal. He clearly thought that this was the worst trauma of his young life. I spent a whole night with him, talking sense to him, comforting him.

Twenty years later, I ran into this young man again. "Remember me?" he grinned.

"Sure do. You owe me a night's sleep," I said.

"I came back to tell you the end of the story," he responded. And he shared with me what had happened to him since that time. His life had been filled with blessings. He had a beautiful wife and children and was very happy. Meanwhile, the girl he considered ending his life over had become an alcoholic, and by last count had been married and divorced three times.

So ultimately, with hindsight, he realized that because of his "tragic" breakup he turned out to be much better off. Of course when he was suicidal and I tried to tell him that everything would turn out for the best, he could not listen, much less understand why it was better this way.

The Zohar, the chief work of the Kabbalah, the body of Jewish mysticism, comments that when God created the world He pronounced it tov me'od, "very good." But when we look at the world, when we study history, when we watch World News or CNN, we find it very hard to agree with this divine judgment.

"Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward."

So the Zohar points out that God gives us a clue in the name he chooses for the first man – Adam. In Hebrew, Adam is spelled using the same letters as the word me'od" – mem, aleph, daled – but in different sequence: aleph, daled, mem. Furthermore, the Zohar says, Adam is an acronym standing for the three milestones of human history. Aleph, as the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, represents the very beginning of the story of mankind with Adam. Daled, for David, represents the high point of Jewish history. Mem stands for Moshiach (Messiah), who will bring the world to its longed-for state of fulfillment.

When we finally reach that stage of history alluded to by the mem, the days of Messiah, we will be able to look at everything that ever happened before throughout the course of all time, from the aleph of Adam through the daled of David, and together with God, we too will be able to proclaim that the world is not only good, but indeed very good – tov "me'od."

As Søren Kierkegaard so powerfully put it, "Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward."

IN SUMMARY

The Biblical exchange between God and Moses teaches us to beware of assumptions that are incomplete and erroneous, assumptions that lead us to question the goodness of God.

Moses says to God, in effect, "God, I want to honor you totally, but my lack of understanding of Your ways interferes. How can I honor you completely when I see good people who have it bad and bad people who have it good?"

God says, "Hold off, I question two of your premises."

"Which premises?"

"Number one, don't be so quick when you call some people good and others bad, because you don't know for sure. Number two, when you say they have it bad or they have it good, are you sure of your definitions? Are you sure you know what you are talking about? You are not positive. And you can't be positive because you can't see My face. You will only be able to see it in retrospect. In retrospect a terrible thing could be the best thing. Sometimes it will take you years to see. Sometimes you will never see, not in your days on Earth anyway."

What troubles so many people, however, are the many times when even the gift of retrospect seems to give us no greater clarity. Looking backwards at one's life can be illuminating, but it can often still leave us with many unresolved questions. What can we do then? Does it mean that we will end our lives on Earth with problems never to be resolved, injuries never to be healed, cruelties never to be explained, injustices never to be set right?

It is easy to say, "Okay, he lost his job. He will find one that he likes much better – it's not so bad." But when we are watching someone slowly dying from cancer, suffering with every breath, it is not so easy – in fact, next to impossible – to say, "This, too, is for good."

A wife says to me, "My husband got sick, he remained sick for the rest of his days, and then he died. Where is the good in that? Don't tell me to wait for the end of the story. I have seen the end of the story. He died."

Yet God tells us, "Man cannot see Me and live." We don't have the entire picture even at the time of death. Death is the gateway to the great beyond – and that very description reminds us that there is more after our earthly passage. What is still not clear during our finite existence, God seems to be saying, will be possible to comprehend once we are blessed with the divine perspective of eternity.

Mourners for their loved ones may have a difficult time viewing death in any positive light; for them it represents an excruciating loss. But for the deceased, death is not a problem, but rather a solution to the problem. For the person involved, death is the beginning of all the answers, as we will see next.

To purchase a copy of "If God Is Good, Why Is the World So Bad?" click here.

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About the Author

Rabbi Benjamin Blech, a frequent contributor to Aish, is a Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University and an internationally recognized educator, religious leader, and lecturer. He is the author of 19 highly acclaimed books with combined sales of over a half million copies, A much sought after speaker, he is available as scholar in residence in your community. See his website at rabbibenjaminblech.com.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 47

(44)
Anonymous,
April 3, 2016 2:01 AM

I have to disagree strongly with this article. I think that a God who is compassionate and caring would know that some people are just going to leave religion if too much bad happens to them. Why would he want that to happen? I think that a god who allows good people to suffer, and then leave religion because it's just too much for them is not a compassionate god.

"Zach Sobiech, at the age of 14, found out he had a rare form of terminal cancer. So he became a rock star, and millions of people got to see his music before he passed away on May 20, 2013. This is his beautiful story." Adam Mordecai

(41)
spencer john luxon,
May 22, 2013 4:03 PM

great

six thousand years is a long time, eternity could be forever

(40)
Anonymous,
May 22, 2013 2:39 PM

Great article Thank you.

(39)
William McDill,
May 21, 2013 11:42 PM

God allows us choice

We live in a Created world with 'time's arrow'. Meaning everything will die- each of us, the stars, black holes..everything. We have the power to meliorate the actions of entropy- free will. How we exercise that free will is our challenge. God has dropped a few hints: Decalogue, Genesis, the Bible. the faith of Abraham and Isaac- with its attended surprise ending. We are NOT to be passive accepters of 'Gods Will'. We are told in millions of Gods words what to do- some ignore this.

(38)
Anonymous,
May 21, 2013 10:37 PM

Don't blame the victim

Rabbi Blech wrote: So when God tells Moses, "I will be compassionate to whom I will be compassionate," He is saying, "I know better than you who is righteous and who is wicked, who is deserving and who is not. Don't presume to improve upon my judgment." I don’t agree. In a sense, this blames the victim. A person who is good and kind, yet has cancer, is not “wicked” or “undeserving”. Perhaps that person is just unlucky. As a former hospital social worker in the pediatric unit of a hospital, I saw young children die from cancer or trauma. These children were not “wicked” or “undeserving” nor were their parents. I much prefer the explanation of Rabbi Kushner who wrote “When Bad things happen to Good People”. In the book, he postulates that G-d doesn’t cause the suffering, but is there as a resource to comfort us and give us the strength to deal with it.

Joey,
May 30, 2013 6:06 PM

But this is where the other point kicks in---that what seems bad may be good in some way we cannot understand. I agree that this can be a hard statement to accept, but Rabbi Blech's argument is not as simple as you seem to have read it.
God bless!

(37)
Anonymous,
May 21, 2013 9:55 PM

bad is bad

hope that makes you feel better to believe but sometimes bad is just bad. there can never be a reason for rape, murder, suffering. would you willingly allow that to happen to your child?

(36)
Edoardo Recanati,
May 21, 2013 4:18 PM

there is no one leave falling without God's will

My parents were not celebrating their birthdays saying that it is better to ignore getting older However their wedding anniversary followed a special ritual. In the morning my father would go to work without saying anything as if he had forgotten the day. My mother was a little nervous but during the day she would receive a huge bunch of flowers, always the same, with a sealed note that she would run to read in full privacy. Then they would go out for the evening holding hands and looking at each other eyes. We, the children would watch and feel happy. In their old age, my mother fell sick to Alzheimer and very quickly lost her mental capacities. My father was attached to her as a pet, but rationally was talking about "after" and joining me in Israel. Bitterly I was dreaming of spoiling him from his very hard life. And then, he passed away in minutes for a stroke! I was furious against God who took him before I could offer him what he never enjoyed and let my poor mother live what was not a life. She passed away a few months after and I was devastated at her funeral because I did not understand God's judgment. I had bought a place at the cemetery so they would rest together and then only then I realized that it was the day before their wedding anniversary. The people present at the funeral did not understand why I began with an almost hysterical laugh... they had not missed even that anniversary! Later on I wanted to be alone and pray asking for God's forgiveness. I promised for the rest of my life to accept anything would happen to me and say thanks to Him. The same I teach my children, because there is not one leave falling without God's will.

(35)
Anonymous,
May 21, 2013 3:53 PM

" If an evil person had hurt your child, you may not be able to forgive him, but you would at least know where to place the blame – on human wickedness." From a Jewish perspective, even this suffering is Min Hashamaim, from Heaven; Hakol Bidei Shamaim Chutz MiYirei Shamaim. Shamaim -- everything is in the Hands of Heaven except Fear of God - is always the source of everything, pleasant and not so pleasant, just sometimes we have a messenger who gets the blame. Therefore, God is never off the hook so to speak. We just don't understand Him for "good" or "bad" things.

(34)
Rehman Mackwani,
November 7, 2012 12:35 AM

Similarities in the Teachings of Judaism & Islam

Dear Friends,
I picked up Rabbi's Blech's "If God is Good ..." from the library and am very touched by the profundity of Jewish teachings as expounded herein based on the Talmud and various Midrash. It is a truly amazing rendering of the ancient wisdom - our hats off to Rabbi Blech.
I am a Shia Muslim. I grew up in India and so am familiar with Hindu mythology. For the last few years I have been reading about Christianity and the Gnostic Gospels. I have read very little about Judaism till now.
Reading this book opened my eyes to Jewish faith, ethics and morality. Rabbis have done a wonderful job - preserving the wisdom gathered over centuries. Rabbi Blech has presented this wisdom in a simple and easy to understand manner, and I thank him with all my heart. May God bless him in both the worlds.
I could see several parallels between the teachings of Judaism and Islam. The one that made me stop and think early on in the book was the Jewish credo "Shema Israel. ". I could very easily relate it to Surah Ikhlas (Verse of Purity or Oneness) that comes at the end of the Quran where it says "Allahu Ahad" - God is One .
There were a lot other passages that sounded so Islamic. And wht not. If there is only One God, then we are all His Children - brothers and sisters - one big family. We can live in peace together - loving, caring and helping one another as we journey through this short worldly life to the bliss of eternal life in the Hereatfer.
May the Lord, our God grant us all this understanding. Amen.
Shalom, Salam, Peace!
A wayfarer like you,
RM
PS: I have ordered a personal copy of this book from Amazon and plan to keep it by my bed to read and digest these teachnings from time to time.

(33)
Jong,
October 12, 2012 11:57 PM

Clear and complete

The ideas of Rabbi Blech makes good sense. Wise and profound. One of the best articles I've ever read in Aish.

(32)
Lior,
October 11, 2012 10:44 PM

Doesn't satisfy the question

Although the article had a good point that we really can't know what is good or bad, it is the world's general moral consensus that an infant that died is not a bad thing (or is not a good thing).
The specific example of a baby with cancer is not satisfied with the explanation specifically for that reason. They are also definitely "good" people as they did not have even an opportunity to sin.
You may argue that the baby could end up being a negative influence to the world, being a tyrant or something of the sort, but that doesn't take away from the fact that A) he/she was good at the time of death and B) we actually can be sure of our definitions in this case, the baby was good!

(31)
Esther,
July 2, 2010 8:48 PM

Best I've read on this subject!

This article is so good it's mind blowing. There are so many nuggets of wisdom to think about and share with others. Thank you Rabbi Blech!

(30)
Joanne Van Engel,
March 8, 2007 11:16 PM

the wisdom and teaching in these articles

I love reading Rabbi Blech's articles. I have had so many questions and without fail the Rabbi not only answers them, but teaches me something in addition. This article especially so. I had only read the portion literally and as such it meant little except the "you cannot see my face and live", but the deeper meaning , the explanation, has answered many questions in my life, and will enable me to pass these insights on to my children and grandchildren. Thank you Rabbi.

(29)
Johnny,
July 4, 2006 12:00 AM

G-d is good...

Shalom aish, I have been following your websight for quite some time now- I have been studying Torah for the last 25 years and am grateful for your information as to the truth of HaShem. I too have found this to be the case for why bad things happen to good people and vice versa, and come to not even question anymore- WHY??? because I have come to trust the almighty one and his infinate wisdom... Thank You for listening. Johnny

(28)
Rox,
June 4, 2006 12:00 AM

Understanding

A thought occurred to me while reading your excellent article.

I don't even know why *I*, myself, do such and such a thing or do not do such and such a thing. How can I possibly know or undertand the working of the world like G-d? G-d is self-sufficient, self-knowing, self-understanding. I'm not!

Anonymous,
March 21, 2011 8:35 PM

Great idea! I heard another story akin to it!

Chevi Garfinkel (Torah Anytime.com, lecture on Bitachon/Trust)once told me a story of a girl who lost her arm in as a result of an accident while visiting an old woman. Her father asked her, "So, will you be religious now? Look at what your G-d did to you!" She looked back at her dad, not understanding his question. He repeated, and screamed at her-Can't you see what your evil G-d did to you! She finally returned, "You're right. G-d just did something I really don't understand. But Dad, that's what makes Him G-d."
Chevy explained this story with a cute remark-would you want a G-d as smart as you? I wouldn't! I can barely even keep my room clean! This trust in the depth of G-d's understanding can be the comfort through the hardest times.

(27)
Peggy Smith,
May 29, 2006 12:00 AM

I find the concrete teachings of Judism to be so fulfilling. They reach deep into the heart and create wonderful changes in ones life.

(26)
Anonymous,
December 30, 2003 12:00 AM

thanxs a ton!!!

i always had questions about g-d and i still have until today, but thanxs to your article some of them have been answered. it cleared up some of the thoughts that i had. it was kindof like Divine providence that out of all the articles that there are, i chose to read this specific one tonight. it was amazing and well written. thanxs again. i also enjoy very much being able to read what others thought about this article, and other articles. it makes me feel in a way that i'm not alone in my thoughts, and that others have some of the same questions as i do.

(25)
Holly,
November 11, 2003 12:00 AM

Thank you

Rabbi Blech,
Thank you for this article, after reading it I feel a lot better about G-d than I did after reading "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People." It is sometimes hard to understand the "bad things" that happen, but it is true that in hindesight you can sometimes tell that the bad thing wasn't so bad.

One thing I saw mentioned in the comments were about how death could be a good thing. I may be in the minority here, but after losing my Mother when I was fifteen, I was never angry at G-d. I knew that G-d was taking care of her in Heaven, and that she was happier.

Yes, I missed her and still do, and I can't say even now that her death was a good thing, but it has brought my Dad and I closer (which is something she always wanted), and I've grown up to be the strong, independent woman she wanted me to be. I always thought it odd after she died how everyone kept coming up to me, and telling me not to be mad at G-d, and I just couldn't understand that, I was never angry at Him, I just prayed that He took care of her soul, and that He watch over me.

There were times though when it got tough, and my Dad suggested the "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People" book, but it never answered my questions, and it felt like it was trying to splinter my relationship with G-d.

So, Rabbi, thank you for this article, and I think I might have to buy a couple copies of your book, one for my husband and myself, and one for our closest friend who is going through tough times now.

(24)
schuckmann,
October 18, 2003 12:00 AM

Thank you

Thank you so much for your help and explanation

(23)
Rabbi Benjamin Blech,
October 7, 2003 12:00 AM

Author's Comments

As the author, I want to personally acknowledge all the insightful comments that appeared in response to the excerpt from my book.Whether you agreed with my analysis or not, I feel profoundly gratified to know that I've opened up this ultimate theological question to discussion, debate and to further thought.

Two points that I'd like to stress as a general reaction to all the comments:

1) What motivated me to write the book more than anything else - as I make clear at the outset - is the need to rebut the view of Harold Kushner in his now classic work "When Bad Things Happen To Good People" (a book read by over 10 million people, Jew and Gentile)who posits the idea that G-d is NOT omnipotent. To solve the problem of evil in this world, Kushner claims that HASHEM simply can't do any better, much as He would like. That pure and simple is heresy - in light of traditional Judaism as well as most major faiths. It hardly allows for people to pray in the hope that they will be answered by an all-mighty hand; what good is praying to someone who is as powerless as we are. Whether readers accept my answerrs or not isn't as important, I think, as knowing that threoughout the centuries we have found other approaches to deal with the question of why good people suffer without being forced to give up our belief in an all-powerful Creator.

2) I was not at all surprised that some readers of the excerpt remained dissatisfied. Indeed, that is a point I make several times in the book itself. NO ONE ANSWER IS SUFFICIENT UNO ITSELF. I would strongly suggest that readers kind enough to consider the ideas of the one chapter AISH put on its site take the time to carefully read the whole book in its entirety. Only after considering all the insights I painfully put together can readers make a fair judgment about Judaism's sensitivity a well as profound insights into this crucial area of test to our faith.

Rabbi Benjamin Blech

New York City

(22)
Anonymous,
October 6, 2003 12:00 AM

Your explanation is that when an unfortunate event occurs it sometimes turns out to be for the best &/or we do not see the full perspective till we are dead. But regardless of that, when a loved one dies- there is no goodness for the mourners.

When someone dies, considering their is an afterlife, and considering it is good, and as stated before there is still no goodness for a son or someone mourning the loss. You cant possibly say that it is a good thing for the mourner. There is no explanation. The only answer is that the deceased is living a much happier life (But who is to know about the after-life?), still, as stated before, that does not give joy to the deceased love ones...

Please write back asap.
Thanks

(21)
Jacqui,
October 5, 2003 12:00 AM

Barry - you're missing the point.

If you are reading Rabbi Blech's article, you are surely trying to make some kind of connection with G-d. If this is so, do you not fully trust G-d?
You are drawing your own conclusions and not what G-d has ordained because of His knowledge of where we have come from and where we are going. You have no knowledge in this present life-time of what was agreed to between you and G-d. Therefore you have to TRUST Him in all His ways. To do this, you have to unquestioningly love G-d with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. If you did this, you would never question G-d. Even the suffering of babies, for you know not what G-d's plans are. I have suffered the loss of a grand child, a nephew and been through many other tragedies, but I have never, ever, for one moment, even during the worst pain and darkest hours, not trusted G-d with all my heart and soul. I know that one day I will understand His ways. This is called "Bitachon" REALLY TRUSTING G-D.
I think that Rabbi Blech's article is so very explicit, according to Torah, of what G-d's plans are for us.
Thank you Rabbi for such insight, you have given me great discernment, which is what I daven for each day and I know that one day I will see all the answers to my questions - in the right time - in G-d's time, in the meantime here on earth, I will continue to TRUST G-d with all my heart and soul.

(20)
Nellyda Rivers,
October 4, 2003 12:00 AM

I am still stuck as my first husband was "disappeared"

March 26, 1976, Mar del Plata, Argentina, a neonazi argentine task force knocked down the door of the apartment we rented. They took my husband with them... never to be seen again... that destroyed me even now... how could that be considered good? Of course, he was 3rd generation of Jewish Russian ancestors who migrated to Argentina by the turnover of the 21 st century. That mishap still haunts me.

(19)
Anonymous,
October 4, 2003 12:00 AM

well done

We wonder why some innocent children die. "They didn't do anything wrong" people say. Why do people think that ONLY sinning causes death? There are other reasons for people dying. Maybe the soul only needed to come back to Earth for a little while to fix some past errors. And there are reasons that we don't know about. But THERE ARE reasons
Since we do Not understand the ways of G-d and we do Not see the big picture, we should Not judge.

(18)
Belle Plummer,
October 3, 2003 12:00 AM

a little defense of Barry

Rabbi Blech's article rubbed me the wrong way also. Upon reflection it was because of his examples: the scholar who was thought so saintly until his sneer was revealed, etc. It was a poor choice for a hard article. It is altogether too "New Age-y" and convenient to abscribe the bad things that happen to people to some secret sin or failing. AS Barry points out - what about the innocent child who is born ill or stricken with an incurable and painful illness? What about the young father of young children who is taken by cancer. How about the older man who has been the sole caretaker for his deisabled wife who finds himself newly diagnosed with an incurable disease? The thumbnail scketch of Rabbi Blech shows him to have lived longer than I - surely he knows of similar situations. His use of Moses' story is apt - we cannot see the totality of God. We have to believe in the intricacy of the tapestry of which we are only threads. But his article, by the use of those examples, doesn't ssay much for the kindliness of our Lord who clothedand fed the Hebrew people as they went through the Wilderness. The article doesn't do much towards telling us that life is hard and we should be kind to those unfortunates who have it harder. We should not speculate on their secret sins, if any, or further speculate on the ultimate reason for their suffering. Visiting the sick is a mitzvah; acting as Job's hard-hearted "friends" is not. Barry has the appropriate outlook , I believe. He suffers with the unfortunate. When he stands in comunal prayer on Yom Kippur, his heart is with the JEwish community. If all our hearts were so attuned, much of the world's suffering could be alleviated

(17)
NIna,
October 2, 2003 12:00 AM

What good can we see from a child dying from a terminal illness?

Your article was quite eye opening.... but I am still stuck...even in hind sight... after a child dyes from a terminal illness... what good can we see out of that.
We can see the good if something bad prevents us from experiencing something worse (like your example of getting a flat tire...missing the plane... but not being on the plane that blew up.

(16)
gus broumas,
October 2, 2003 12:00 AM

We need your message.

There is a need to know there is good in our world.

(15)
arleen,
October 2, 2003 12:00 AM

Wondeful reading

Enjoyed very much reading this perspective. Reassuring.

(14)
Sarah Sousa,
October 2, 2003 12:00 AM

'clarity'

I'd like to thank you for taking the time and effort to write this article. It truly gave me, and I'm sure many other people, a better understanding of the way the world is run. Your article was very clear and to the point, your usage of storys and exampes helped to drive the pointhome. Thank you again!

(13)
Ben,
October 2, 2003 12:00 AM

It's egotistical to think we can know everything...

Suppose you were to walk into an operating room during a heart transplant, and had never seen a doctor operating before. You'd see the patient, cut open, bleeding, people reaching in and putting metla objects into the person. Would you think "Gee, this is good for that person?" Or would you think: "Why are they mutilating that poor person?"

The point is - we don't know everything about the world we live in; how can we honestly expect to know everything about what G-d is doing?

Another way to look at it - a baby in the womb must think he is in Paradise. Floating in a warm, dark space, fed on demand, no worrries. And then, suddenly, expelled into a bright world of noise, crying, pain, trouble, joy, love; a world where we are given the opportunity to know G-d.

This world is only part of the world that G-d has created for us. I'm looking forward to making the best of my life so I can see what happens next!

(12)
Lori,
October 2, 2003 12:00 AM

thank you very R' Blech

your answer to one of the most, if not the most, difficult questions was
clearly understandable.

thank you!
l'shan tove umetuka

(11)
Anne,
October 2, 2003 12:00 AM

Wonderful article

Thank you for showing many truths
Hope against hope
I have always wondered for my life.
Thank you

(10)
Eli,
October 1, 2003 12:00 AM

Response to Barry

Barry,

The fact that we don't understand G-D and that bad things happen to innocent children is no reason not to believe. The soul is eternal, and many times will incarnate in many physical lifes to correct past wrongs. Ultimately, this is for the soul's good as the soul will gain eternal perfection. Though the child suffering innocently may appear to be "unfair", we are not privvy to understand the entire picture. Only G-D knows this in its entirety. Many righteous people have gained insight into this concept and have been able to shed light onto specific instances of G-D's "unfairness" by explaining the event on a "soul" level.

We do not see the soul, but that does not prove that it doesn't exist. Afterall, we don't see electricity, yet it is most certainly there.

A simplistic example is of a person arriving at the execution of a death row convict and screaming about the unfairness of the execution. After explaining to the spectator that the person being killed is guilty of murdering hundereds of people, the spectator will understand that the execution of this mass murderer is fair and justified. Our perspective changes as more facts become available to us.

My point is that we are but a blip in space and time relevant to the universe. We are watching events without having any clue as to the real context that they are transpiring in. If we truly believe in G-D, it is both silly and arrogant for us to blame G-D for tragedy to innocents when we do not have all the facts before us.

(9)
Anonymous,
September 30, 2003 12:00 AM

I agree with Barry Silverstein. I accept many of your premises, but not as to why an innocent child, who has had no occasion to sin, should suffer and die.

(8)
feree,
September 30, 2003 12:00 AM

Barry?

I think you missed the point.
The whole idea of the article is that you can't understand G-ds ways. You just can't. That's why you can't judge them.
There are reasons. So you can't see them, does that mean they're not there?
What standard are you using to judge good and bad? You don't know G-ds standard. You can't see it all.
Truth is still truth, whether or not you want to accept it.

(7)
Yoka,
September 30, 2003 12:00 AM

eye opener

What a wonderful article the verses from the Torah you explain are now more clear than ever before even with all the commentary included.
I will send this to a friend who does complain a lot.
Kol tov.

(6)
margie eisenberg,
September 30, 2003 12:00 AM

still saddened by evil

While I can agree on 'principle', evil existing so man can fix the world, the evil is overwhelmingly awful.......the Holocaust, the bombings, war, we could use a little Help!

(5)
Goldie Fasten,
September 30, 2003 12:00 AM

hard not bad

I read a beautiful article in the Hamodia on May 9, 2003 by Pessy Frankel and I would like to share it with the readers of this article:
BAD OR HARD?
My mother dished a generous portion of meatballs and spaghetti onto a plate and passed it to our seven-year-old guest. He picked up his fork and twirled it around carefully in his mountain of spaghetti.
My mother inspected her brood - four sons and two daughters - and her little guest, all assembled around the kitchen table.
"Who's first" she asked. That was always how she began our suppertime family ritual.
Our little guest stared at her curiously.
“I’ll start” my brother volunteered. “the best thing that happened to me today was…” He stopped to think. “My teacher finally changed my seat. Now I sit by the window”
My mother smiled. “Oh good for you! You hated sitting right in front of the teacher. And what was the worst thing today?”
“I have a big social studies test tomorrow and I am gonna have to study the whole night”
“Now me” I said.
In the beginning, as the oldest of the clan, I had claimed that this family ritual was babyish. My mother had rejected the claim. Why, even she and my father told us their bests and worsts, and just because I was in high school didn’t mean she’d let me off the hook. By now I learned to appreciate the family exercise.
“My worst thing,” I started, “I flunked my math quiz, Sara walked in with the same shoes I bought last Sunday, and the concert we’ve been working on is pushed off ‘indefinitely.’”
My mother clucked in sympathy. “And your best thing today?”
“It was a completely rotten day!” I declared.
“Oh, no.” My mother hurried to say. “I am sure you can find something good”
I shook my head obstinately.
“My turn” my sister called, before my mother could insist that I come up with something.
Everyone had a turned. Then my mother called on our guest. He was a pert little boy spoke in a heavily accented English. His father was very sick and needed a kidney transplant. He was hospitalized in Manhattan, having flown in with his family from Israel to be treated by a top American surgeon. His mother had contracted a bad case of pneumonia and had been hospitalized a few days before. My mother volunteered to take care of the little boy until his family situation stabilized.
“My best thing” he began slowly, “is that I met a lot of new kids in America and now I have so many new friends.” He grinned at David, my little brother who was now his classmate.
Poor little thing, I thought. A foreigner, a new kid in the class, his father dangerously ill, and his mother in the hospital.
“And the worst thing?” my mother prompted.
Benny’s forehead creased in concentration, but only for a second. He smiled. Everything G-d does is good. So I don’t know what to say.”
Everyone stopped eating.
You are right,” my mother said finally. “Thank you for reminding us.”
My mother hasn’t given up her suppertime ritual, but these days her question goes like this: “what was the hardest thing for you today?”

I think the article speaks for itself...

(4)
Yitz Greenman,
September 29, 2003 12:00 AM

A great article

I was recently asked for an answer to this question and I'm happy to forward this article. Very well done.

(3)
Karen Tennenbaum,
September 29, 2003 12:00 AM

Enlightening

I was looking for prayers to be said during the 10 days and found your web site. I read the preceding and it so fit my life and my thoughts. Thank you for this article.

(2)
Barry Silverstein,
September 29, 2003 12:00 AM

Sorry - doesn't work for me

I believe this is an attempt to justify the unjustifiable. I don't have the answers, but there is no goodly or godly reason to take the life or make an innocent child or person suffer.

Anonymous,
March 21, 2011 8:40 PM

Open your mind to a new perspective

The reason we can't accept this view is because we are blocked by our physical self. The physical body cannot comprehend such unanswerable questions on this earth. Only once we escape the confines of physicality can we view the world in the new light, and see that there is good reason for everything. It may be hard, difficult, and very painful, but it is just-once we've removed the cataract and have that clear lens. Learn, my friend, and you will come to believe that this life will not have all the answers. And I guarantee that if you grow in trust, your entire life will take on a finer glow.

I’m wondering what happened to the House of David. After the end of the Kingdom of Judah was there any memory what happened to King David’s descendants? Is there any family today which can trace its lineage to David – and whom the Messiah might descend from?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Thank you for your good question. There is no question that King David’s descendants are alive today. God promised David through Nathan the Prophet that the monarchy would never depart from his family (II Samuel 7:16). The prophets likewise foretell the ultimate coming of the Messiah, descendant of David, the “branch which will extend from the trunk of Jesse,” who will restore the Davidic dynasty and Israel’s sovereignty (Isaiah 11:1, see also Jeremiah 33:15, Ezekiel 37:25).

King David’s initial dynasty came to an end with the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian Exile. In an earlier expulsion King Jehoiachin was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar, together with his family and several thousand of the Torah scholars and higher classes (II Kings 24:14-16). Eleven years later the Temple was destroyed. The final king of Judah, Jehoiachin’s uncle Zedekiah, was too exiled to Babylonia. He was blinded and his children were executed (II Kings 25:7).

However, Jehoiachin and his descendants did survive in exile. Babylonian cuneiform records actually attest to Jehoiachin and his family receiving food rations from the government. I Chronicles 3:17:24 likewise lists several generations of his descendants (either 9 or 15 generations, depending on the precise interpretation of the verses), which would have extended well into the Second Temple era. (One was the notable Zerubbabel, grandson of Jehoiachin, who was one of the leaders of the return to Zion and the construction the Second Temple.)

In Babylonia, the leader of the Jewish community was known as the Reish Galuta (Aramaic for “head of the exile,” called the Exilarch in English). This was a hereditary position recognized by the Babylonian government. Its bearer was generally quite wealthy and powerful, well-connected to the government and wielding much authority over Babylonian Jewry.

According to Jewish tradition, the Exilarch was a direct descendant of Jehoiachin. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 5a) understands Genesis 49:10 – Jacob’s blessing to Judah that “the staff would not be removed from Judah” – as a reference to the Exilarchs in Babylonia, “who would chastise Israel with the staff,” i.e., who exercised temporal authority over the Jewish community. It stands to reason that these descendants of Judah were descendants of David’s house, who would have naturally been the leaders of the Babylonian community, in fulfillment of God’s promise to David that authority would always rest in his descendants.

There is also a chronological work, Seder Olam Zutta (an anonymous text from the early Middle Ages), which lists 39 generations of Exilarchs beginning with Jehoiachin. One of the commentators to Chronicles, the Vilna Gaon, states that the first one was Elionai of I Chronicles 3:23.

The position of Exilarch lasted for many centuries. The Reish Galuta is mentioned quite often in the Talmud. As can be expected, some were quite learned themselves, some deferred to the rabbis for religious matters, while some, especially in the later years, fought them and their authority tooth and nail.

Exilarchs existed well into the Middle Ages, throughout the period of the early medieval scholars known as the Gaonim. The last ones known to history was Hezekiah, who was killed in 1040 by the Babylonian authorities, although he was believed to have had sons who escaped to Iberia. There are likewise later historical references to descendants of the Exilarchs, especially in northern Spain (Catelonia) and southern France (Provence).

Beyond that, there is no concrete evidence as to the whereabouts of King David’s descendants. Supposedly, the great French medieval sage Rashi (R. Shlomo Yitzchaki) traced his lineage to King David, although on a maternal line. (In addition, Rashi himself had only daughters.) The same is said of Rabbi Yehuda Loewe of Prague (the Maharal). Since Ashkenazi Jews are so interrelated, this is a tradition, however dubious today, shared by many Ashkenazi Jews.

In any event, we do not need be concerned today how the Messiah son of David will be identified. He will be a prophet, second only to Moses. God Himself will select him and appoint him to his task. And he himself, with his Divine inspiration, will resolve all other matters of Jewish lineage (Maimonides Hilchot Melachim 12:3).

Yahrtzeit of Kalonymus Z. Wissotzky, a famous Russian Jewish philanthropist who died in 1904. Wissotzky once owned the tea concession for the Czar's entire military operation. Since the Czar's soldiers numbered in the millions and tea drinking was a daily Russian custom, this concession made Wissotzky very rich. One day, Wissotzky was approached by the World Zionist Organization to begin a tea business in Israel. He laughed at this preposterous idea: the market was small, the Turkish bureaucracy was strict, and tea leaves from India were too costly to import. Jewish leaders persisted, and Wissotzky started a small tea company in Israel. After his death, the tea company passed to his heirs. Then in 1917, the communists swept to power in Russia, seizing all of the Wissotzky company's assets. The only business left in their possession was the small tea company in Israel. The family fled Russia, built the Israeli business, and today Wissotzky is a leading brand of tea in Israel, with exports to countries worldwide -- including Russia.

Building by youth may be destructive, while when elders dismantle, it is constructive (Nedarim 40a).

It seems paradoxical, but it is true. We make the most important decisions of our lives when we are young and inexperienced, and our maximum wisdom comes at an age when our lives are essentially behind us, and no decisions of great moment remain to be made.

While the solution to this mystery eludes us, the facts are evident, and we would be wise to adapt to them. When we are young and inexperienced, we can ask our elders for their opinion and then benefit from their wisdom. When their advice does not coincide with what we think is best, we would do ourselves a great service if we deferred to their counsel.

It may not be popular to champion this concept. Although we have emerged from the era of the `60s, when accepting the opinion of anyone over thirty was anathema, the attitude of dismissing older people as antiquated and obsolete has-beens who lack the omniscience of computerized intelligence still lingers on.

Those who refuse to learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. We would do well to swallow our youthful pride and benefit from the teachings of the school of experience.

Today I shall...

seek advice from my elders and give more serious consideration to deferring to their advice when it conflicts with my desires.

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